The Sixteenth Century

The rule of the Sultans of Gujarat over the archipelago of Bombay came to
an end with the arrival of the Portuguese. In 1508 the first Portuguese
ship, captained by Francis
Almeida sailed into Bombay harbour. The Portuguese were already at war
all along the coast of India. In 1534, with just 21 ships, they managed to
defeat the kingdom of Gujarat, and extracted, among many concessions, rights
to the islands of Bombay.

India was not a priority for the Portuguese.
Francis Almeida had been
sent to the east to secure the spice trade for his country. The most
lucrative part of this trade lay further east. Bombay and the Arabian
sea was important only as a staging post to Malacca. Almeida's successor,
Albuquerque, consolidated their position by taking control of Goa in
1510, Malacca in 1511 and Hormuz in 1515.

The northern parts of the Portuguese holdings in India, mainly on the coast
of Gujarat, were defended out of their
fort in Bassein,
present day Vasai, on the mainland north of the islands, and stronghouses
were built in Bandra,
Mahim, and the harbour
of Versova. Control over
Bombay was exerted indirectly, through vazadors
who rented the islands.

The vazador of Bombay was a certain Garcia
da Orta. He built a manor house on the island in 1554. On his death in Goa, in
1570, the island was passed on to his sons. During this time Bombay's main trade
was in coconuts and coir. The island of Salsette also exported rice.

The Portuguese encouraged intermarriage with the local population, and
strongly supported the Catholic church; going to the extent of starting the
Inquisition in India in the year 1560. The result was a growing mixed
population which supported the Portuguese in times of strife. However, their
intolerance of other religions, seen in the forcible conversion to Christianity
of the local Koli population in Bombay,
Mahim,
Worli
and Bassein, had the effect of alienating the local population.

With the annexation of Portugal by Spain in 1580, and the defeat of the
Spanish Armada by the British eight years later, the way was open for
other European powers to follow the spice routes to India and further
East. The Dutch arrived first, closely followed by the British.
An account of the Portuguese towns in India,
in the year 1583, has been left by a member of the first band of English
merchants who tried to reach India.